That's pretty good from someone who has already fired a CEO he didn't like, force bondholders of GM debt to take 10 cents on the dollar, and lavishly bestow goodies on his union buddies in the UAW.

But then, Obama is very, very good at looking us straight in the eye and sounding so reasonable, so sincere, as he lies through his teeth. He really is an exceptional liar because when it comes down to it, he doesn't have to worry about the day to day operations of the company - not when he and his administration are about to dictate exactly what kind of cars that GM can build.

Sam Youngman of The Hill has the details on Obama's speech:

"What I am not doing, what I have no interest in doing, is running GM," he said.

"They, and not the government, will call the shots and make the decisions about how to turn this company around," he noted. "In short, our goal is to get GM back on its feet, take a hands-off approach and get out quickly."

Hours after GM filed for bankruptcy Monday morning, Obama announced the government would purchase 60 percent of the company and also provide another $30 billion in aid.

The administration also argued its stake in GM was the only way to avoid total job loss and further devastation of the country's economy.

"Understand we're making these investments not because I want to spend the American people's tax dollars, but because I want to protect them," Obama said in the Grand Foyer of the White House on Monday morning in a speech covered by all the news networks.

Republicans, however, began their attacks before Obama started speaking, blasting the president for turning GM into "Government Motors."

And several GOPers, including potential 2012 presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, assailed the administration for its course of action, with some calling Obama the new "president and CEO" of GM.